Saudi bid to protect pre-Islamic sites upends religious dictates

RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia is preserving pre-Islamic heritage sites, like a date palm oasis from the Stone Age, in a break with the austere strain of Sunni Islam that has dominated the country for decades, as the reclusive kingdom tries to open up.

A boy walks in Souq Al Qaisariya now known as Al Ahsa World Heritage UNESCO Village after it was added to UNESCO World Heritage site, in Al Ahsa, Saudi Arabia, July 8, 2018. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

Wahhabism, the ultra-conservative branch of Islam that emerged in Saudi Arabia some 250 years ago, regards the veneration of objects, especially those predating the Prophet Mohammed’s life in the 7th century, as tantamount to idolatry, and has advocated their neglect or outright destruction.

But under reforms pushed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has vowed to promote a more moderate form of Islam and loosened strict social rules like a ban on women driving, the kingdom has allocated $1 billion to preserve its heritage.

ARAB SAUDI ARABIA SHOULD WORK TOGETHER WITH AGA KHAN TO WORK FOR HUMANITY

Semilarity what Imam Aga Khan say as follow:

AGA KHAN SPEECH IN LISBON
In June 2015, Portugal welcomed the establishment of the Seat of the Ismaili Imamat in Lisbon. The Agreement signed on that occasion, represents a pioneering gesture that underlines the values of tolerance, cooperation, and mutual respect. It provides an enabling framework that will facilitate the global work of the Ismaili Imamat and marks the first such accord in the Imamat’s modern history and is a historic milestone. The premises at Rua Marquês de Fronteira, home of the Seat, provides a long-term base from which the Imamat will address complex international requirements and challenges.

In his address to the Portuguese Parliament on 10 July 2018, Mawlana Hazar Imam referred to the Seat as a “committed global institution” and spoke of the meaning and impact it will have, remarking “Lisbon, already a leading international crossroads city, will also now serve as a central connecting point for the global Ismaili community.” He reaffirmed the magnitude of the decision to establish a Seat in Portugal “taken after much reflection and consultation” saying that “it represents a true milestone moment in the long history of the Imamat.”

This milestone moment is also recognised by Portugal and its people. At the Parliamentary address yesterday, His Excellency Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues, the President of the Assembly of the Republic, referred to the Diamond Jubilee of Mawlana Hazar Imam as well as this historic occasion as “the high point, even a historic point of projection of the Ismaili community and Portugal.” He went on to say “that celebration, and that all of this is celebrated here, and the fact that the headquarters of the Ismaili Imamat is going to be established here – is historic, it gives us great pride, great pleasure, but also great responsibility.” His Excellency also shared his hope of what these events will bring for Portugal saying, “Your visit here and your establishment here, shows how we would like to project ourselves in the international community as a bridge-building country. We offer you our heartiest congratulations at this high point in history. We hope that your presence in Portugal will be a catalyst for energy and joint work for the creation of more fair, more open, and more pluralist societies.”

To mark the significance of the occasion, a gift — a meticulously detailed coloured print depicting the Qajar monarch Fath Ali Shah — was presented to Mawlana Hazar Imam on behalf of the global Jamat. The print, with its exquisite detailing and saturated colours, evokes the powerful impression of the monumental imperial enthronement scenes.

The coloured aquatint on paper depicts the Qajar ruler Fath Ali Shah enthroned with princes, noblemen, ministers, foreign ambassadors, and envoys. The print is one of a series of reduced copies of life-size wall paintings completed in 1812-13, evoking the splendour and glory of Fath Ali Shah’s reign at the Court of Persia in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

The occasion was also marked by the launch of the official website of the Ismaili Imamat: https://Ismaili.Imamat.

HOPEFULLY Ahmadiyyah and Ismaili Muslim can work together hand by hand to make people kife better off not only spiritual but also welfare of people.